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Okeeheelee Middle principal speaking out against testing next week

While the Palm Beach County School Board as a whole and thousands of Palm Beach County parents have made their stance against the over emphasis on standardized testing in Florida widely known, one individual Palm Beach County public school principal in Greenacres is stepping out to speak against testing next week.

Okeeheelee Middle School Principal David Samore is holding a press conference at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14 at his school’s library at 2200 Pinehurst Drive in Greenacres to talk about the impact of testing on students.

“Florida has taken mandated testing to 50% of the school year. That is correct: out of 180 school days, testing consumes 50% of the school year,” Samore said in a press release he issued this week.

He said his school has been tracking the testing this year and found that state mandated standardized tests took up 90 of the 180 school days this year, not including teacher generated quizzes and tests that were part of the normal curriculum for the class grades.

Samore said he will have teachers, students, parents, business leaders, and elected officials including state representatives speaking about testing at the press conference.

He has also sent invitations to Gov. Rick Scott and gubernatorial candidates Charlie Crist and Nan Rich.